So as far as cooking. Recently I'm all about freezer meals. Holy moly. So worth the work. I spent a few hours one Saturday and made up some and it lasted us so much longer. This is the book I have:http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Assets-2E-Cook-Month/dp/1402218591/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272342&sr=1-2. I wish I had a freezer to do this. Something for the future I'm definitely going to look into. For now with our small family our fridge's freezer works. I did some crock pot freezer meals recently that saved me a ton of money! I think I did 8 meals worth. I had a huge bag of chicken from Costco I have hardly touched (thanks to previous freezer meals) so I did everything with that. I think it's like $21 for a big bag of chicken and these breasts are huge! Then I spent like $40-$60 at Winco getting the rest of the stuff I needed. Mainly veggies and stuff. 8 meals right there. All frozen and all I have to do is dump them into the crock pot and we're good to go a few hours later. I might make rice or some salad or something on the side but otherwise dinner is set! I tried some of the recipes I found on pinterest but remembered I have a crock pot cook book that you can easily adapt into freezer meals. Might try those next time.
On top of my dinner freezer meals I also tried to make some smoothie mixes that I keep in my freezer. I saw it posted on pinterest and had to try it. This is the link http://dreamingofpoultry.com/content/freezer-smoothies. I love them all. Except maybe the mixed berries one. I hate all the seeds. But these are super easy for breakfasts. Just follow all her instructions and when the time comes dump them in the blender with whatever liquid and you're set. I'll even add a little ground flaxseed because I can always use the extra stuff. Now I tried to get Charlotte to take these but she won't. I know the doctor mentioned trying to get her more veggies. But I found another way. I'm so sneaky. Here is Charlotte's Chocolate Milk recipe that I make for her. This all goes in the blender. 1 packet chocolate carnation instant breakfast, 1 cup 2% milk (she needs the extra), 1/2 c. vanilla greek yogurt (we love Zoi... I'll tell you about that in a min), a handful of spinach, a couple spoonfuls of flax, couple spoonfuls peanut butter, and either 1/2 a frozen banana or a whole. I guess depending on the size of the banana. I just buy a big bunch usually at costco and peel them, break them in half and freeze in a gallon freezer bag. Charlotte loves this in the mornings. It makes about 2 cups worth in one of her cups with the straw. I used to do something like this when I was pregnant and everything made me sick. It was nice to had something cold to drink in the morning that I could keep down.
Now we have to talk about greek yogurt. I've tried a lot of different kinds. I wasn't a super big fan of the taste on its own. I used it more like a substitute for sour cream or cooking. Then one day my mom got this one kind that was honey flavored. It was really good. So when I was at Winco I was looking and found some to use with my freezer smoothies. Oh my goodness. It was super addictive. Now I didn't realize it at the time but it was a different brand from what my mom got. I bought Zoi. As seen here http://www.zoigreekyogurt.com/. I am pretty sure only Winco carries it here in UT. It is seriously amazing and addictive. I crave it like I crave ice cream. It does not taste like greek yogurt. The texture is smoother and the flavor divine! I can eat this as dessert. Yeah, for me, that is a flippin' miracle. This is what I need to curb my sweet tooth in the evening. This with some fresh fruit is the best. So here's to me hopefully dropping some weight.
Oh and another new cooking thing I'm trying. Coconut oil. I use it in place of most oils. I use it when making popcorn. I used it when I made a bunch of coconut lime banana bread. I used it to grease and flour pans. I want to try frying tortillas in it for taco shells. Its supposed to be really good and not as greasy. It is more expensive but I really like using it and its supposed to be healthier.
Onto my house stuff. I'm slightly OCD. I've gotten better with not being so anal about stuff. When you have kids sometimes you just have to let some things go. I'm working on that. But I have a schedule I've tweaked here and there and this keeps my house the cleanest throughout the week.:
Monday: vacuum, sweep floors, mop as needed, disinfect bathroom and clean mirrors, and wash towels.
Tuesday: dust, clean mirrors/glass
Wednesday: vacuum, sweep floors, mop as needed
Thursday: bathrooms and wash towels.
Friday: dust, clean mirrors/glass, change sheets on beds, vacuum, sweep and mop.
Sometimes on Wed I don't always have to vacuum. Laundry is done as needed. I don't do it on a set day. The dishes and kitchen are done every day. Every now and again I'll wipe doors and floorboards as needed. Our fridge stays pretty clean so I just do that as needed. I like to disinfect our bathrooms twice a week. Mondays I do the lighter version. Just cleaning the mirrors, wiping down counters and sink with bleach spray. Same with the toilet and floor around the toilet. I also put in fresh towels and the same on Thurs. On Thurs the tub gets scrubbed out and I wipe the bathroom floors by hand with bleach spray. Really doesn't take that long and I just feel cleaner. I used to just do bathrooms once a week but spending two days keeps the dust down and things just are cleaner and I feel better about it. There are some days I go and wipe down all light switched and doorknobs with antibacterial wipes. The kitchen is wiped down a few times a day with those. I hate when I see crumbs and stuff on the counter. I think that is most of it. I just find our home stays cleaner this way and I'm happier and in a better mood. Oh and I tried this new thing in our shower that has helped get rid of soap scum and water spots. Equal amount of warm vinegar and blue dawn dish soap in a spray bottle, sprayed in bath and shower and left to sit for 30-60 min. It takes longer to wipe off with a sponge but would be a good once a month thing for us. I think our tile looks cleaner. But otherwise kaboom foamtastic works great for every other week. I've just really liked this method. Instead of one big day of cleaning I can spend a little bit each day and everything stays kept up.
So that's about everything I do to keep food costs down and the cleanliness of our house up. Organization is huge. The more junk you can get rid of and if you find a place for things and keep it organized the easier it is to keep your house in order. So when I get lazy and see something out that needs to be put away I just remind myself it will just take a second and otherwise it sits out and clutters. It's a daily struggle but things look so much better when I take that extra minute. Oh and one other thing... when I worked at Lee's we has this business we worked with (BDR). They taught us to manage our time more efficiently and cut costs. So if you have to get up to make copies, make sure you do other copies for other things you might need later or talk to whoever you need to while you're up and by their desk. I found recently I do this a lot at home. As I walk back and forth and I grab and do multiple things at a time. I'm always thinking ahead of what I have to do and will sometimes be carrying 6 things down the hall to put away in similar areas. I try to multitask as much as possible and get things done while I'm thinking about it otherwise I forget. I've just found if I am constantly aware of what's around me and what needs to be done and how I can condense those things or do them together to get it done faster, things run more smoothly. So glad I had that job at Lee's. I really learned a ton.
But yeah... this is my life and what I do. So if you want to share some of your tips I'd love to hear it. Oh and if anyone has any tips on getting a kid to poop on the toilet when they are terrified of it, please let me know. Charlotte won't go on the potty and goes in her undies and right now we're in a battle. She has to poop but will only go if undies or a diaper are on so she's walking around without bottoms and doesn't get to watch anything on the tv until she does. She is as stubborn as me!
1 comment:
You need to come and stay with me for a few days.....
Post a Comment